<p>What are the cities like? The only cities I've ever spent considerable time in are Worcester, MA; Boston, and New York City. How do they compare to these cities? How is the public transportation? Do you need a car to get around? Are there many museums? Many parks? </p>
<p>Also, I am a crazed theatre fan. How is the theatre scene? Do any of the theatres host major tours? Are there many regional and community productions? Are they any good?</p>
<p>I will be limited as to what I can communicate to you by comparison. I have visited Boston, but not Worcester or NYC. Nevertheless I’ll try to paint a picture.</p>
<p>See [Arts</a> in Minneapolis](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts_in_Minneapolis]Arts”>Arts in Minneapolis - Wikipedia), which relates the Minneapolis side of things.</p>
<p>The Twin Cities metro is a little smaller than the Boston metro (see [U.S</a>. Metropolitan Statistical Areas](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_metropolitan_areas]U.S”>Metropolitan statistical area - Wikipedia)) but they are of comparable orders of magnitude, both far smaller than the NYC metro area. What is unusual for the TC metro is that there are two core centers instead of one, which I believe is and advantage as it permits both concentration and dispersion of urban activity. That, coupled with only a very limited amount of heavy industry allows, IMO, the general livability of the cities proper (clean streets, well-kept yards, moderate local traffic) to be higher than in other U.S. metro areas.</p>
<p>The public transportation system isn’t as convenient for college students as the Boston or NYC subways, but I think it is functional. There is one light rail route, currently, with the construction of a second one imminent, but if you don’t have a car you’ll have to take the bus. This is the primary mode of public transport on which you can travel safely at any time of day to within a few blocks of most places in the city limits and particular destinations (malls, mostly) in the suburbs. I think most college students would have their transportation needs met by the bus (because they usually have no need to visit office buildings and homes in the suburbs) and can do without a car. I can’t say, however, that your freedom of movement wouldn’t be enhanced by a car. Still, between walking, biking, and bussing, you’d be fine getting around town for four years at Mac.</p>
<p>Let me add that, While its not quite like Boston, there are also many college students in the Twin Cities. The U of MN, with campuses in both Minneapolis and St. Paul, has 45,000, and there are many other four-year schools with the city limits: Mac, St. Thomas, St. Catherine’s, Hamline, Concordia, Augsburg, and Metro State.</p>
<p>There is an extensive park and parkway system spidered throughout both cities. St. Paul’s is very good, with two very large parks in the north of the city and an excellent set of parks and walkways on the banks of the Mississippi. Minneapolis, the City of Lakes, has an incomparable system, chaining together most of the twelve natural lakes that are situated within that city ([Minneapolis</a> Park & Recreation](<a href=“http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=71]Minneapolis”>http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=71)). A bicycle is an excellent way to explore these.</p>
<p>There are fine museums, too. A few of special note:
–I won’t pit it against NYC’s art museums or even the BMFA, but the [Minneapolis</a> Institue of Arts](<a href=“http://www.artsmia.org/index.php?section_id=7]Minneapolis”>http://www.artsmia.org/index.php?section_id=7) is a large, first rate, museum with valuable and instructive collections in multiple periods, traditions, media, and genres and hosts many nationally significant touring exhibits.
–The Walker near downtown Minneapolis is well-known for its 20th century collection as well as the iconic [Spoonbridge</a> and Cherry](<a href=“http://collections.walkerart.org/item/object/713]Spoonbridge”>http://collections.walkerart.org/item/object/713) in its sculpture garden.
–The U of MN features the [Weisman</a> Art Museum](<a href=“http://www.weisman.umn.edu/]Weisman”>http://www.weisman.umn.edu/) which is notable for its Gehry architecture if not its collection.
–The [Science</a> Museum of Minnesota](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_Museum_of_Minnesota]Science”>Science Museum of Minnesota - Wikipedia) in St. Paul is, IMO, much like its counterpart in Boston. It has recently gained a national reputation for its innovative visiting exhibits, such as Pompeii artifacts and, currently, the Dead Sea Scrolls.</p>
<p>Finally, the theater scene in the Twin Cites is well-known, high quality, and very active. The centerpiece, the [Guthrie</a> Theater](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guthrie_Theater]Guthrie”>Guthrie Theater - Wikipedia), is of national prominence. The [Children’s</a> Theatre Company](<a href=“Children's Theatre Company | Children's Theatre Company”>http://www.childrenstheatre.org/about/) is also highly respected for what it does and there are many other groups of regional significance. Minneapolis also gets its share of touring Broadway shows each year and has been the developmental incubator for some shows that have later become Broadway hits, such as The Lion King.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your answer! It was amazingly helpful!</p>